Always Three
by DinoKiwis
Summary: Shelley's Party.


Veronica doesn't understand why Lily won't leave her alone. It's not that she wants her gone, it's that she doesn't want to go to Shelley's party, but there Lily is, telling her that the white cotton dress she had picked out before her best friend's head was bashed in was too dull, and that Veronica really should have taken her advice earlier about red satin.

She still didn't even know why she was going to the party in the first place. Lily wanted her to go, she wanted to prove a point, wanted everyone to know she didn't care what they said, didn't care if Duncan was with another girl. _But I do care, I really do._ She's not over it yet, but if she pretends long enough, maybe she will be.

She looks at herself in the mirror. Lily was right, Veronica isn't white cotton, but she's not sure she's red satin either. Her long blonde hair is deceiving. It says she's still Veronica Mars, innocent and whole. Innocence is lost on her now. She's seen what it's like when people live, and really LIVE too much. She's seen what happens to best friends who have too many secrets. And because of that, she's lost a part of herself. The part that makes her want to mend it. To make it all better. Now all she wants is to find Lily's real killer, even if it kills her.

One more glance at her mirror and she's out the door, her dad is gone, and she has to admit it's a little lonely, a little scary without him.

She knows she shouldn't have come as soon as she walks in the door. She's not welcome here, and something **will **go wrong, it always does. But she's Veronica Mars, and she has to be strong, because that's what Lily would have wanted. So before she runs off, she decides to give it a try. Decides that a few hours with the people who ostracized her couldn't possibly be that bad.

---

Logan didn't understand why Veronica had come to Shelley's party. She was aware that no one wanted her there, but he still saw her walking around with her head held high. Noticed her being handed a drink from an unknown source, and watched as she downed half of it immediately.

He was more than a little buzzed. _Lily would have wanted me to get by without her, she wouldn't want me at home._ He spotted Veronica, in his drunken haze he had almost confused her for Lily. Almost. She was acting ridiculous, the rumors he had started would certainly seem convincing to everyone here, now that the saw her in action.

_Bitch. _Logan knew he was being a little unfair, but she was here, throwing herself at_** any **_guy that would look at her. Why the fuck wasn't she grieving like she was supposed to, and why did she have to flaunt it? If it wasn't for that white cotton dress, he would have thought she was someone else, that his innocent Veronica Mars was gone for good.

The last thing he remembers, after giving Duncan the drugs, is seeing Veronica in one of the guest bedrooms, apparently sleeping. _Bitch._ He wants to care, wants to pretend that she's the same Veronica, but he knows she's not the same. So he leaves her, hell, not that much can go wrong. Not everyone in Neptune is that bad.

---

Veronica doesn't know where she is when she wakes up. All she remembers is that she had one drink, and despite her small stature, she wasn't that much of a lightweight. That's when she sees her underwear on the floor. Her underwear that should be on her, and the pain between her thighs.

Tears begin to fall before she can stop them, before she even realizes that she's going to cry. She gathers herself, tries to ignore the pain welling inside of her, and goes to her car. _I should have known that coming would kill me. _She thought things couldn't be worse. But in Neptune, things always went from bad to worse, she was beginning to see that now.

1) Lily gets killed. 2) Dad loses job. 3) Mom leaves. 1) Get drugged at party. 2) Get raped. 3) Car gets vandalized while at said party.

Veronica thinks that's just the cycle of her fucking life. Always in threes. She goes to Lamb. Lamb, her father's replacement as sheriff. Lamb who can't stand the Mars family.

_Go see the wizard._

Because yes, Veronica thinks, the wizard can give me my life back. He can bring Lily and her mom back, give her dad his job back, stop her from getting raped and her car vandalized. But the wizard can't do that. And Lamb has just broken her cycle.

Things in Neptune don't always happen in threes like she thought they had. No, bad things must come in at least threes, but sometimes they spill over.

Sometimes people aren't that good, and she knows that _someone _is going to pay for what happened for her, once she gets to the bottom of it.


End file.
